the deference to these trade deals -- senator schumer: the american people are speaking already and they don't like what they're seeing. they're anxious. they're worried, and they're worried about the chaos of what trump is doing, in addition to worrying about how deep these tariffs, how high these tariffs go in terms of costing them. he never outlined a policy like this. yes. reporter: how are democrats going to use the recess to message about these tariffs and do you think that former senator menendez deserves a pardon? senator schumer ok. : the bottom line is that how democrats are going to use, you're going to see us talking. we are working. hakeem and i, our senate and house colleagues are going to be out there talking to the people during the recess all the time on the issue of tariffs, on the issue of medicaid, on the issue of taxes, on the issue of social security. we have days planned where we're working on all these issues. did you want to answer?

>> no, i was just going to say we also got a tax bill coming up that can help bring industry back from overseas by making it more attractive to do business in the united states rather than overseas. look at the pfizer report. a few years ago, pfizer paid no taxes in the united states. they basically went and did business overseas. that's the kind of idea that the democrats have. senator schumer: thank you, everybody. >> senate majority leader john thune spoke about trump's tariffs plan, specifically against china, during remarks to reporters on capitol hill.

>> well, good afternoon. we are wrapping up our first 100 days here in the united states senate and i could not be prouder of what our colleagues have accomplished, the things we have gotten done. we have moved the president's nominees through the senate and the fastest possible pace in 20 years. we did the longest continuous senate session, 10 weeks, that we have had in 15 years. and obviously we rolled back a lot of burdens and regulations to congressional review act. we passed lake and riley which the president signed into law,

the fentanyl bill, signed into law, most important and consequential pieces of legislation and passed a bunch of resolutions that set us up to do things we have on our agenda along with president trump, that is to extend the trump tax cuts, obviously rebuild the military, restore energy dominance and secure the southern border at the same time we are saving money, finding ways for the government to operate in a less expensive way so i am hopeful as we head into this week that the house will be able to act on the senate budget resolution so we can get the reconciliation process started, which is where we actually do the hard work of ensuring that there isn't a $4 trillion tax increase on the american people at the end of the year where we're actually building the wall and taking the steps to secure our southern border, where we're actually

preparing our military to face any of the threats that they face in an increasingly dangerous world and also lowering the gas or i should say the cost of gasoline and other forms of energy in this country through the energy reforms that we intend to make. so we're excited about what we've gotten done so far, but we know there's a lot more work to do, and we intend to work closely with president trump and his team, with our counterparts in the house of representatives, as together we move forward with an agenda that is a good one for the american people and deliver on the mandate that we got in the election last november. questions. reporter: there seems to be some consternation in the house right now about passing the senate approved budget resolution. is what house conservatives are proposing, could that have passed with that level of cuts in the senate? >> well, i'm not sure exactly what they are -- reporter: they want a lot less. sorry, they want much higher spending. >> part of what this is all

about obviously is the senate we , have different rules that govern and restrictions that are placed through the byrd rule on how we act through budget resolutions and ultimately budget reconciliation and all we simply did was add the senate priorities to the house passed legislation. so we didn't touch the instructions that the house gave. they can proceed with those and as we get into the reconciliation process, we're going to be very committed to doing as much as we possibly can on deficit reduction. i think as you saw there was a number in there. it was a $2 trillion number. the house was at $1.5 trillion. when they went through their budget resolution process. but i think right now in some ways these are we're speaking slightly different languages because the house and senate operate in such different ways. but at the end of the day what this does is it unlocks budget reconciliation. and unleashes all the things that we want to accomplish on behalf of the american people, and that can only happen when the house and the senate pass the same budget resolution.

so i'm hopeful we'll be able to move on that, get the votes that are necessary to get it across the finish line so we can start the next phase of this, which is really where we start making law and deliver on our agenda. reporter: with respect to tariffs, the white house said [inaudible] this means that according to some estimates the tariffs could be as high as 104%. [inaudible] >> you will have covered this place long enough and i think everybody kind of knows my views on tariffs but the fact of the matter is, the president ran on this. there wasn't a campaign event where he didn't talk about the importance of getting other countries to treat us more fairly when it comes to trade, bilateral trade, multilateral trade in this country, and 77 million people voted for him and his agenda, and i think he deserves the opportunity to see what kind of deals he can get

from some of our trading partners. and i think most of us are giving him the space in which to do that, and hope that he is successful because that's good for not only him and his administration but it's good for , the country. reporter: how important the chinese market is specifically , to south dakota soybean exporters, how concerned are you that china says it's going to fight until the end, indicating that they might not reach a deal for months? >> i think there is a lot of rhetoric right now but i'm hoping that in the end that the chinese, like a lot of other countries, will come to the table. there is clearly, in my view, room for negotiation that would achieve the objectives the president has laid out, and it could be to the benefit of both the u.s. and china. but at this point, i think where we are right now in the process is the president has made it very clear that he wants changes made, starting with fentanyl and the precursors that the chinese

makes and then gets distributes and gets into this country. but i think there are other, you know promote reciprocal titrating policies that could be implemented if the chinese will come to the table and work with this administration. but i think you've got to give them room to do what they need to do. china right now, that's a lot of hot rhetoric, but they are very dependent on the u.s., they need us as a partner. reporter: want to pay more in prices as a result of these policies? >> you know, i think at the end of the day, and as i've said this before and you know you asked the question about south dakota and agriculture, yeah, there are all kinds of implications. there are a lot of very intricate trading relationships that exist today across the world, and you know, ultimately we don't know what the economic impacts are going to be. we hope that the president is successful and if he is and he gets some reciprocity from other countries around the world, you know, this may all be temporary.

it may be something that the administration ultimately, you know, adopts a different policy with respect to individual countries that actually come to the table and work out deals and if they do that, then ultimately i think that's a good thing for the american consumer. but obviously we're all paying attention and i think the entire country is to the implications of what's been proposed by the administration and clearly we want to see an economy that's stronger and more robust where you've got more jobs being created in this country. and the income gap in this country closing as we create better paying jobs in a lot of places around the country that have suffered as a result of the loss of the manufacturing base that we've had here for a long time. reporter: what do you think of raising taxes on the ultrarich? >> coming up wednesday on the

c-span network, at 10:00 a.m., the senate commerce committee meets to consider more of president trump's executive nominations for nasa administrator and the federal communications commission, the house returns at 12 for work on resolutions to repeal consumer protection rules from the biden administration, capping overdraft fees charged by large banks and credit unions, and treating digital payment apps like vento as banks. on c-span 2, scott bessent speaks at the american bankers association washington summit and the senate returns at 10:00 a.m. to consider trump's executive nomination, including for u.s. ambassador to israel, canada, and mexico. on c-span 3, u.s. trade representative on capitol hill for a second day, testifying on president trump's trade and tariff policy before the house ways and means committee. these events also stream live on the free video out.

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